Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Top Ten Films of 2024

If I can fill out this top ten list earlier in the year, I consider it a very good year for movies. This time, I didn't have a full list of ten until just a few days ago. Does that make it a bad year? Not really...maybe a little weaker than I would have expected, but there was plenty of interesting stuff to see. I feel the need to assure everyone that I do in fact watch other movies besides horror and animation. I can't help if it they've been outperforming most of the other genres when it comes to bold, innovative work full of ideas and resonant themes. 

Speaking of horror, the only silver lining I can think of for this year's miserable presidential election, where a majority of people looked back on the chaos and corruption of Orange Caligula's first term and said "I want some more" like a bunch of really dumb Oliver Twists, is that the genre is about to get another major shot in the arm. Have you noticed the wave of pregnancy-themed horror since the end of Roe v. Wade? That's only the beginning, and it leads nicely into the point I wanted to make.

A lesson I've taken from 2024 is that it's time to rethink how we engage with the world around us and work towards better things. We've defined activism and advocacy simply by how much time we spend getting stressed about bullshit little teapot tempests that don't last the week. The day by day immersion, personified by the 24 hour news networks, is a failure...at least in terms of what we wanted from it. If you're talking about really changing hearts and minds, it doesn't come from yelling at people on Twitter....but it might come from art. The numerous fascinating movies that came out this year about the trans experience (more on that in a while) have more potential for improving things than retweeting zingers that you like. Maybe it's time to back away from that kind of stuff and more towards the potential of great art. A wise man once said, "you don't have to attend every argument you're invited to." With that, let's get started.

10. Union 
Working class solidarity will be essential to getting through the next several years in the United States. A good case study is this compelling observational documentary about the grassroots effort to start a labor union at a huge Staten Island warehouse owned by Amazon, one of the largest employers on the planet. Thousands of people who work in just that one location are underpaid and overworked and the uphill campaign is started by Chris Smalls, who was promptly fired. As they make inroads with convincing their coworkers to vote for the union, Amazon pulls all manner of dirty tricks and legal nonsense to maintain the status quo of abusing their employees while Jeff Bezos spends his fortune on conspicuously phallic rockets. The filmmakers ultimately had to distribute the movie themselves as too many companies were reluctant to damage their own relationship with Amazon. You won’t see this one on Prime Video anytime soon, but a google search will do the trick.

9. Hit Man
Half of this consistently charming movie is a biopic of the undercover operative Gary Johnson (played very well by Glen Powell), and the other half is a twisty romantic drama inspired by his life but definitely fictional. While working as a college professor, Johnson makes some extra money by assisting the police with his technical expertise, but the sudden suspension of the dirty cop Jasper (an oily but surprisingly likeable performance from Austin Amelio) leads to him having to play the “hit man” role to ensnare those conspiring to commit murder. He turns out to be surprisingly good at it, at least until he begins an ill-advised romance with a suspect (Adria Arjona). Knowledge of the true story won’t help you here, but the sometimes disarming storyline always works thanks to Richard Linklater’s skill at plotting and dialogue.

8. Memoir of a Snail
A weird and poignant Australian stop-motion animated film about a girl named Grace (voiced by Sarah Snook), who is obsessed with snails. Her already difficult childhood gets bleaker when she is separated from her beloved twin Gilbert (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and must try to find meaning in life without him. As with his previous film, Mary and Max, Adam Elliot is able to create a totally unique mixture of morbid, almost grotesque visuals with oddball comedy and surprising warmth. Once you’re on its wavelength, it’s hard to resist. How can you not love a movie where a stop-motion character starts creating stop-motion films of her own?

7. Rebel Ridge
Aaron Pierre gives a cool, commanding performance as the ex-marine Terry, who is accosted by police who steal the money he was carrying to post his cousin’s bail. The premise sounds a bit like a Rambo film, but this is not a guns blazing action movie but a tense drama about Terry struggling against police corruption with only an intrepid court employee (AnnaSophia Robb) on his side. There are a number of other movies that address the rot at the heart of policing in the United States, but Jeremy Saulnier’s skill for finding the little wrinkles of humanity in all of the characters makes it feel extremely convincing. Abuse of civil asset forfeiture laws, which is what allows Terry to be so blatantly robbed, is a real and pervasive issue in America and the film makes a convincing case that money, not racism, is the true reason behind police misconduct and the refusal of the institution to hold itself accountable.

6. Flow
This gorgeous Latvian animated film takes place in a world where humanity has disappeared and animals of all kinds roam the woods. In the aftermath of a catastrophic flood, a lone cat joins with a dog, a capybara, a lemur, and a huge secretarybird to try and keep their heads above water. These are not talking cartoon animals - with a few exceptions, they behave like real animals would. It creates a dreamlike atmosphere that allows viewers to get totally lost in the painterly visuals. There are plenty of messages about tribalism or global warming to interpret here, but the movie’s gentle touch makes it easy to ignore any of that. The lack of dialogue is also useful for international distribution - it attracted a number of viewers in the United States, an impressive feat for any animated movie that isn’t American or Japanese.

5. Rita
Given how often La Llorona gets mentioned on this blog, it should come as no surprise that I saw Jayro Bustamante's new movie as soon as I possibly could. Sure enough, it's another gorgeous Guatemalan film that blends history and the supernatural in the same way Bustamante did last time, using an infamous state-run orphanage as the setting for a dark fantasy tale. Rita (Giuliana Santa Cruz) ran away from her abusive parents but ended up committed to the place, where she joins a sisterhood of teenage girls who dress like angels and plot to rise up against the cruel adults who run the place. This was a real place that was teeming with heinous abuse and corruption and the resulting scandal led to large protests and the arrests of several high-ranking government officials. Opinions will vary on whether it was necessary to depict the girls as taking on traits of various fantasy creatures, but it’s an interesting way to convey the high stakes of the situation and lends itself well to Bustamante’s already prodigious storytelling talent.

4. Anora
Sean Baker's interest in those on the margins of society continues with the story of a young New York stripper (Mikey Madison in a breakthrough performance) who meets Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a powerful Russian family. Anora agrees to his impulsive marriage proposal and dreams of a life of luxury, but once the news reaches Vanya’s family in Mother Russia, all hell breaks loose in a sharp deconstruction of fairy tale romantic comedies. The movie is bursting with life thanks to Baker’s ability to effortlessly shift from screwball comedy to affecting drama, particularly in the film’s centerpiece around the halfway point - a scene of prolonged mayhem and shouting that goes on for at least 20 minutes. The story and characters are prioritized over social commentary, but it’s a moving examination of how the careless whims of the rich and powerful can wreak havoc in the lives of the less fortunate people around them.

3. Sing Sing
The effortlessly moving story of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program in New York’s Sing Sing prison. John “Divine G” Whitfield (Colman Domingo) is a founding member of the program, an innocent man waiting for a parole hearing that could set him free. The group of inmates collaborates on a wacky original play that tries to incorporate all of the different ideas they came up with during brainstorming sessions. Anyone who has seen other movies about life in prison will be taken aback by how different this film’s approach is, treating everyone involved as genuine human beings rather than just depicting the place as a hotbed of savage violence. The impressive naturalism is achieved by the use of 16mm film and the fact that the only career actors in the cast are Domingo and Paul Raci as the play’s director. The rest of the cast is made up of former inmates playing themselves, people who really did participate in this program. One of them, Clarence Maclin, is even expected to get a Best Supporting Actor nomination in a few weeks. The result is an authentically uplifting look at people finding ways to hold onto their humanity in an environment determined to take it from them.

2. The Substance
A gonzo, swing for the fences body horror film starring Demi Moore as Elizabeth Sparkle, an aging actress so desperate to save her fading career that she is willing to try a black market drug. “The substance” allows her to temporarily live as a younger version of herself (Margaret Qualley) but it’s a messy process that’s difficult to maintain, so it’s only a matter of time until something goes wrong. And go wrong it does as this thrilling movie barrels towards its absolutely insane conclusion. Even though it all borders on the absurd, there is a genuine look at the pain women feel in a society that values them only for their looks, mostly thanks to Moore’s exceptional performance. With all the fearsome body horror on display (seriously, the makeup effects are breathtaking), one of the most powerful scenes is just Elizabeth standing in front of a mirror, looking great but only able to see flaws, being destroyed by insecurity.

1. I Saw the TV Glow
A beautiful, haunting masterpiece that felt even more important by the end of this year.  In 1996, a young boy named Owen (Justice Smith) befriends the slightly older Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine), who introduces him to her favorite show - “The Pink Opaque.” The experience of discovering the show and bonding with Maddy causes Owen to have realizations about himself that he doesn’t even have the vocabulary to describe. Like Jane Schoenbrun’s previous film, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, this is primarily a story about growing up transgender and the terror of having to deny your true self out of (justified) fear of the outside world’s reaction. While it’s never definitively stated, it’s much less subtle this time and the movie is meant to be experienced as a metaphor - a completely literal interpretation of the storyline will just leave you confused. Every element of the film is rendered with impressive skill, from the striking neon production design to the meticulous recreation of 1990s young adult television. 

This film is at the forefront of numerous stories about trans people and their experiences - Emilia Perez, The People's Joker, Carnage for Christmas, and others. I'm not an expert on their struggles and so it would be dumb to try and gauge how well any of these movies capture the reality, but I do know a thing or two about how movies communicate meaning. I Saw the TV Glow is able to convey intense, personal emotions even to people who don't have the experiences behind them and even without a straightforward storyline. It's a formidable achievement, one that might even save lives in the coming years (if you live in Florida, you should probably buy a copy now while you still can). 

Honorable Mentions
11. The Wild Robot
12. Love Lies Bleeding
13. Thelma
14. Nosferatu
15. Wicked Little Letters
16. Riddle of Fire
17. The Contestant
18. Longlegs
19. Hundreds of Beavers
20. Lowlifes

Good luck in 2025, everyone. We'll need it.